NYCC offered a premiere of the pilot episode of MTV's Good Vibes, a “new kid in town/fish out of water” story created by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) about a chubby, nerdy New Jersey teenager moving to the model-ridden beaches of California. The pilot delivered a steady dose of witty dialogue (often vulgar, but usually clever) from its silly but likable characters. Although risqué, the series is never mean-spirited, and seems to value and care about its characters and their journeys to find themselves.
Along with the pilot came a panel that included Green, executive producers Tom Brady, Mike Clements and Brad Ableson, and voice actors Josh Gadd, Adam Brody, Alan Tudyk, Debi Mazer, and Olivia Thirlby.
Green opened the conversation by discussing his inspiration for the show: his desire was to tell a story about the “honesty of being a teenager and having a messed up social circle,” combining absurdity with heart. Brady elaborated that, in order to achieve this goal, they went on to acquire a team of writers that “had twisted, painful childhoods [and were] willing to write about them.”
The presentation premiered the pilot (watch it below), which revolves around awkward New Jersey teenager Mondo Brando's (Gadd) attempts to find his place in his new town in beachside California. The panel also discussed future episodes, including one wherein Mondo and his best friend Woodie (Brody) dress in drag to sneak into a Mammogram truck.
Get More: Good Vibes, MTV Shows, Full Episodes
One of Friday’s big attractions at NYCC was a panel dedicated to DC animation. The focal point of discussion at this panel—led by director Andrea Romano and animator/writer/producter Bruce Timm, with surprise appearances by Kevin Conway and Eliza Dushku—was the upcoming animated film Batman: Year One.
Attendees also got to watch the short film, Catwoman, with Dushku as the titular character as she takes down a lecherous mob boss after his hired goons are caught attempting to murder a cat for mysterious reasons. Timm called this short “ten minutes of sex and violence we didn’t get to do in Batman: Year One.”
Discussing their inspiration for making a film based on the Year One comic book, Timm said that it was “about [his] favorite comic book of all time,” due to its unprecedented “level of reality.”
Another fun aspect of the panel was a clip from the in-development Justice League: Doom short film, adapted from the “Power of Babel” comic by Mark Waid. The story surrounds Batman’s attempts to create a dossier that would serve as a useful means of taking down the Justice League were they ever to become corrupt. However, the dossier falls into the wrong hands, and as Timm puts it, “wackiness ensues.”
NYCC presented a Robot Chicken panel, hosted by creator and star Seth Green, co-creator Matt Senreich, writers Kevin Shinick, Douglas Goldstein, contributor and DC comics writer/producer Geoff Johns, and voice actors Clare Grant (Green’s wife) and—the most awesome surprise—Macaulay Culkin.
The panel was expectedly informal—the group denoted it the Silly Hat Club; each member was dressed accordingly. They discussed the upcoming DVD release on Oct. 25, which will “somehow” (as Seth put it) contain episodes not yet aired—those that will comprise the fifth season, which will premiere in Jan. 2012. The audience was treated to clip of the series’ 100th episode (it's on the DVD and part of the new season), which featured the titular chicken breaking free from the clutches of the demonic mad scientist in the opening credits and wreaking deadly havoc on a mass of unfortunate characters.
The panel also discussed two projects in the works: an animated Star Wars feature film, and DC comics homage episode on Robot Chicken.
But the real highlights of the panel were when things went a little “off book.” Provoked by an audience member to strike a “sexy pose,” Seth and Macaulay formed a pyramid of machismo around Seth’s poor wife. It all culminated when Macaulay took things one step further and gave Seth a long, slow, sensuous lick on his face. Macaulay Culkin, people. A man who (as Seth puts it) “can spend the next three years alone, never leaving his house, and still remain more relevant than anyone in this room.”
Finally, NYCC hosted a Comedy Central panel to celebrate the fifteenth season of South Park, dubbed “Year of the Fan.”
The presentation was filled with a lot of South Park fun, including outtakes from the recent special documentary 6 Days to Air, which illustrates the process behind the development of a South Park episode, as well as a South Park trivia competition and a raffle.
However, discussion of a feature film about the behind-the-scenes world of South Park was possibly the highlight of the event. The film will give fans insight into how creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone deal with their controversial series. Subject matter will include how they decide what to keep in and what to leave out, as well as how their decisions affect them and their show.
One of the big topics that will be looked at in the film is the issue surrounding their infamous “Muhammad” episodes—audience members will recall Parker’s and Stone’s choice to include a visual representation of the Islam deity in their episode “Super Best Friends.” A later group of episodes, “Cartoon Wars,” surrounded the controversy over depicting Muhammad in a visual medium. According to the panel, all of this will be discussed by Parker and Stone in the film.

The first and most important thing you should know about Paramount Pictures’ Thor is that it’s not a laughably corny comic book adaptation. Though you might find it hokey to hear a bunch of muscled heroes talk like British royalty while walking around the American Southwest in LARP garb director Kenneth Branagh has condensed vast Marvel mythology to make an accessible straightforward fantasy epic. Like most films of its ilk I’ve got some issues with its internal logic aesthetic and dialogue but the flaws didn’t keep me from having fun with this extra dimensional adventure.
Taking notes from fellow Avenger Iron Man the story begins with an enthralling event that takes place in a remote desert but quickly jumps back in time to tell the prologue which introduces the audience to the shining kingdom of Asgard and its various champions. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) son of Odin is heir to the throne but is an arrogant overeager and ill-tempered rogue whose aggressive antics threaten a shaky truce between his people and the frost giants of Jotunheim one of the universe’s many realms. Odin (played with aristocratic boldness by Anthony Hopkins) enraged by his son’s blatant disregard of his orders to forgo an assault on their enemies after they attempt to reclaim a powerful artifact banishes the boy to a life among the mortals of Earth leaving Asgard defenseless against the treachery of Loki his mischievous “other son” who’s always felt inferior to Thor. Powerless and confused the disgraced Prince finds unlikely allies in a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) who help him reclaim his former glory and defend our world from total destruction.
Individually the make-up visual effects CGI production design and art direction are all wondrous to behold but when fused together to create larger-than-life set pieces and action sequences the collaborative result is often unharmonious. I’m not knocking the 3D presentation; unlike 2010’s genre counterpart Clash of the Titans the filmmakers had plenty of time to perfect the third dimension and there are only a few moments that make the decision to convert look like it was a bad one. It’s the unavoidable overload of visual trickery that’s to blame for the frost giants’ icy weaponized constructs and other hybrids of the production looking noticeably artificial. Though there’s some imagery to nitpick the same can’t be said of Thor’s thunderous sound design which is amped with enough wattage to power The Avengers’ headquarters for a century.
Chock full of nods to the comics the screenplay is both a strength and weakness for the film. The story is well sequenced giving the audience enough time between action scenes to grasp the characters motivations and the plot but there are tangential narrative threads that disrupt the focus of the film. Chief amongst them is the frost giants’ fore mentioned relic which is given lots of attention in the first act but has little effect on the outcome. In addition I felt that S.H.I.E.L.D. was nearly irrelevant this time around; other than introducing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye the secret security faction just gets in the way of the movie’s momentum.
While most of the comedy crashes and burns there are a few laughs to be found in the film. Most come from star Hemsworth’s charismatic portrayal of the God of Thunder. He plays up the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story with his cavalier but charming attitude and by breaking all rules of diner etiquette in a particularly funny scene with the scientists whose respective roles as love interest (Portman) friendly father figure (Skarsgaard) and POV character (Dennings) are ripped right out of a screenwriters handbook.
Though he handles the humorous moments without a problem Hemsworth struggles with some of the more dramatic scenes in the movie; the result of over-acting and too much time spent on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Luckily he’s surrounded by a stellar supporting cast that fills the void. Most impressive is Tom Hiddleston who gives a truly humanistic performance as the jealous Loki. His arc steeped in Shakespearean tragedy (like Thor’s) drums up genuine sympathy that one rarely has for a comic book movie villain.
My grievances with the technical aspects of the production aside Branagh has succeeded in further exploring the Marvel Universe with a film that works both as a standalone superhero flick and as the next chapter in the story of The Avengers. Thor is very much a comic book film and doesn’t hide from the reputation that its predecessors have given the sub-genre or the tropes that define it. Balanced pretty evenly between “serious” and “silly ” its scope is large enough to please fans well versed in the source material but its tone is light enough to make it a mainstream hit.

The Tourist is about as difficult to get through as spotting the vowels in the name of its director. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark was last seen receiving a Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2007 for The Lives of Others which was about a couple living in East Berlin who were being monitored by the police of the German Democratic Republic. Its positive reception made way for the assumption that Donnersmark would continue to populate the USA with films of seemingly otherworldly and underrepresented themes. But his current project is saddening in its superficiality and total implausibility.
The film’s only real upside is its stars: two of our most prized Americans. Johnny Depp plays Frank Tupelo a math teacher from Wisconsin who travels to Europe after his wife leaves him presumably because of his weakness and simplicity. While en route to Venice he meets Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie) who situates herself in his company after she receives a letter from her criminal lover Alexander Pearce (who stole some billions from a very wealthy Russian and the British government) with instructions to find someone on a train who looks like him and make the police believe that he is the real Alexander Pearce to throw the authorities and the Russians off his track. Elise picks Frank and after they are photographed kissing each other on the balcony of Elise’s hotel everyone begins to believe Frank is the real Pearce and so begins the chase.
While Donnersmark could not have picked two better looking people to film roaming around Venice his lack of faith in the audience is obvious. Every aspect of the characters is hammed up again and again as if Donnersmark felt burdened with the task of making us see his vision. Doubtful that we’re capable of getting to where he wants us he has crafted a movie completely devoid of subtlety. Elise’s strength and superiority over Frank are portrayed by close-ups and repeated instances of men burping up their lungs upon seeing her (as if her beauty is in any way subjective?). And in case we forgot that Frank is the victim in this story -- even though he’s been tricked chased and shot at - Donnersmark still felt the need to pin him with a lame electronic cigarette to puff on. Frank and Elise somehow manage to lack mystery even though we get very few factual details about each of them.
Nothing extraordinary comes to us in the way of the film’s structural elements either. There is very little of the action that The Tourist’s marketing led us to believe and the dialog is often painful. The plot itself is almost shockingly unbelievable especially when we’re asked to believe that Elise falls in love with Frank after a combination of kissing him once and her disclosed habit of swooning over men she only spent an hour with (yes that was on her CV).
The Tourist is rather empty and cosmetic. It’s worth seeing if you’re a superfan of Jolie or Depp but don’t expect to walk out of the theater with anything more than the stub you came in with.

Tina Fey stole the show at the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, receiving top honors on Sunday's, September 21, event for her hit series 30 Rock.
The series, starring creator Fey,
Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, won the Outstanding Comedy Series award, while TV series Mad Men claimed its own top honor for Outstanding Drama Series.
Fey and Baldwin each took home top honors of Outstanding Lead Actress and Actor in a Comedy Series for their roles on the show.
Fey took the stage, musing of her honors: "I thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities. Well done. That is what all parents should do."
Historical series John Adams, executive produced by Tom Hanks, was the most-nominated show of the year, taking in five awards of its record 23 nods,
including a win for Outstanding Miniseries. Actress Glenn Close also claimed victory, picking up an honor for her lead role on dramatic series Damages.
Close paid tribute to actresses in her category: "We're proving that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy and are high entertainment and can carry a show. I call us the sisterhood of the TV drama divas."
In a first-time category, Best Reality-TV Competition program went to Amazing Race, the show's sixth award.
Elsewhere, the spectacular ceremony was marked by a performance from American singer/songwriter Josh Groban, joined briefly on stage by Ed McMahon during a musical salute to television history. Groban took to the stage, singing a medley of songs inspired by TV themes including songs from South Park and
Gilligan's Island.
This year's show, opened by talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, was hosted by reality-TV stars American Idol's Ryan Seacrest, Project Runway's Heidi Klum, Dancing with the Stars' Tom Bergeron, Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandel and Survivor's Jeff Probst.
The full list of Grammy Award winners is as follows:
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeremy Piven - Entourage
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Jean Smart - Samantha Who?
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Zeljko Ivanek - Damages
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Dianne Wiest - In Treatment
Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: Louis J. Horvitz - 80th Annual Academy Awards
Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program: The Colbert Report
Commemorative Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety:
Tommy Smothers - The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie: Laura Linney - John Adams
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Tim Conway - 30 Rock
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Kathryn Joosten - Desperate Housewives
Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series: Barry Sonnenfeld - Pushing Daisies
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Outstanding Made for Television Movie: Recount
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie: Tom Wilkinson - John Adams
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Series: Jay Roach - Recount
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special: Kirk Ellis - John Adams
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie: Eileen Atkins - Cranford (Masterpiece)
Outstanding Reality-TV Competition: The Amazing Race
Outstanding Miniseries: John Adams
Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program: Don Rickles - Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Glynn Turman - In Treatment
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Cynthia Nixon - Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Greg Yaitanes - House
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Matthew Weiner - Mad Men - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" (Pilot)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie: Paul Giamatti - John Adams
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin - 30 Rock
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Glenn Close - Damages
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey - 30 Rock
Outstanding Host for a Reality Competition Show: Jeff Probst - Survivor
Outstanding Comedy Series: 30 Rock
Outstanding Drama Series: Mad Men
(c) 2008 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All global rights reserved. No unauthorized copying or re-distributing permitted.

Bobby Garfield (David Morse) returns to his small hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend and remembers the fateful summer in 1960 when his whole world changed. The story flashes back to when 11-year-old Bobby (Anton Yelchin) and his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully-John (Will Rothhaar) capture the pure joy of youthfulness. When a mysterious stranger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moves upstairs and starts to pay attention to Bobby the boy suddenly realizes what's truly missing from his life--the love of a parent. Bobby's mother Liz (Hope Davis) is embittered by the death of Bobby's father and shows little compassion for her son's growing needs. Ted fills a void with the boy opening his eyes to the world around him and helps Bobby come to terms with his real feelings for Carol--and his mother. But Ted also has some deep dark secrets of his own and Bobby tries hard to stop danger from reaching the old man.
The performances make the film especially in the genuine camaraderie of the kids. Yelchin Boorem and Rothhaar never deliver a false move with an easiness that makes us believe we are simply watching three 11-year-old children grow up together. Yelchin in particular is able to get right to the heart of this young boy who misses his father and clings to the only adult who will listen. And his scenes with Boorem simply break your heart. (Davis) does an admirable job playing a part none too sympathetic. She manages to show a woman whose been beaten down but who does truly love her son in her own way. Morse too is one of those character actors you can plug in any movie and get a performance worth noting. In Hearts you want to see more of him. Of course the film shines brightest when Hopkins is on the screen. It may not be an Oscar-caliber performance but the actor is unparalleled in bringing a character to life--showing the subtleties of an old man looking for some peace in his life.
If you are expecting the Stephen King novel you may be disappointed. Screenwriter William Goldman and director Scott Hicks (Shine) deftly extracted the King formula of telling a story through a child's eye and explaining how the relationships formed as a child shaped the adult later. Hicks did an amazing job with his young actors especially Yelchin and Boorem. But where the novel continued into a supernatural theme explaining Brautigan's fear of being captured by "low men in yellow coats" (a reference to King's The Dark Tower series) the movie downplayed the mystical elements instead giving real explanations for Brautigan's man-on-the-run. That was the one problem with Hearts--we needed more danger. Introducing men from another dimension may not have been the way to go but had there been more tension the film would have resonated more especially when Bobby risked his own safety to save Ted.

"Star Trek" shows are like salmon. There comes an hour when they know it's time to swim upstream. "Star Trek: Voyager" And so it has come to pass that "Star Trek: Voyager," the fourth spin-off of the "Trek" franchise, will swim upstream after next season, the UPN announced Monday. Like forerunners "The Next Generation" and "Deep Space Nine," "Voyager" will end its voyage after seven seasons. (The original "Trek" was a short-timer, expiring on NBC after only three seasons. So, too, went the critically acclaimed 1973-74 animated series.)
UPN exec Tom Noonan is pledging "Voyager" will go out with "a surprising conclusion" and a "smashing finale," surely disappointing fans who were counting on "a really bad episode -- like that thing 'Seinfeld' did." In preparation for the farewell, a special two-hour episode will air in November.
"Voyager" made its debut on UPN's own premiere night on Jan. 16, 1995. The show was most notable for introducing the first female "Trek" captain (as played by Kate Mulgrew) and the first female "Trek" catsuit-wearer (as played by Jeri Ryan).
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING: With the impending demise of "Voyager," talk about an all-new "Trek" series has heated up (again). UPN is said to be in talks with Paramount Pictures on how best to milk, er, continue the saga, but nothing concrete has emerged yet.
AFTERLIFE: Cable's Fox Family Channel has snapped up the rerun rights to the NBC hit drama "Providence." Look for old episodes to turn up there starting in September.
TAKE THAT, "ZOE, JACK AND WHOEVER": "The Steve Harvey Show" has been picked up for a fifth season by the WB. The comedy is the network's highest-rated sitcom.
ROCKS IN THEIR HEADS? Some 10.4 million people watched pro-wrestler The Rock host last weekend's edition of "Saturday Night Live." That was the best performance by the NBC show since another worthy host, Monica Lewinsky, did the honors last May.
CAN HARVEY KORMAN BE FAR BEHIND? Tim Conway ("The Carol Burnett Show") has joined the cast of Ellen DeGeneres' new comedy project for CBS.
CYBER WATCH: For those who can't get enough of Fox's "That '70s Show," a series of behind-the-scenes footage will be Webcast on Mondays, starting next week. Look for the 10-minute-long bits at www.that70sshow.com. The shows will unspool at 7:30 p.m. in the Eastern, Pacific and Central time zones.